Filipino ‘Casa’

At the ripe age of 15 and struggling to care for a father with a lung problem, young Maria left her province for a dishwashing job in Manila in order to send her father to the hospital. That job turned into a recruitment to a Filipino brothel where Maria soon lived with sixteen other girls down to the age of 13. During her stay, Maria endured countless sex partners, going to extreme lengths to deceive them into believing she was a virgin.

In other interviews, 12-year-old girls explain the favors requested of them, both in person and over Internet cafes, ranging from dancing with clothes off to horrific acts involving animals. These seemingly unbelievable performances are actually far from uncommon in the world of sex trafficking, and the results are much too disastrous for the health and lives of the victims involved.

During a raid by the IACAT (Philippines Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking) police officers intercepted a group of passengers aboard a ferry heading for Manila. Being a qualified case for trafficking due to the young ages of the girls, the men involved soon landed in court with a lengthy trial ahead of them. Maria heard often of new cases such as this, and she hated that other young lives were being snatched away just like hers.